With Love
by Twisted GH
Summary: "Just friends, huh?" Francis looks at him intently, watching for his reaction when he says, "So, I guess you won't care that she's about to go out on a date with a guy she met in her art class, huh?"..."She's gonna what?"
1. Chapter 1

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

Its a cold February night, not as cold as the one the day before, Winter heading out of town to make way for Spring. Though there was no snow on the ground and nothing falling from the sky, it was still a pretty cold night overall.

Normally she'd be bundled up in her studio in front of her ancient heater and forsaking the outside world, but tonight the police have decided to arrest Jason for the umpteenth time. It was funny how many times they arrested him opposed to how many times they actually had something concrete to hold him on.

Elizabeth believes that when they have nothing else better to do, they arrest Jason just so they have something to do. After all, he is a mob enforcer, what grounds did they really need to have in order to pick him up for questioning? Stupid, but that's the PCPD for you.

Pulling up to the police department's parking lot, Elizabeth parks her by the exit, securing her leather jacket around her before leaving the warmth of her car and stepping out into the cold February night. If the police had any decency left, they'd seriously stop arresting him between the hours of five pm and five am. At least until the nights get a little warmer than they currently are.

"Elizabeth." Justus greets her when she walks through the door and into the main area of the station. "You know, you don't have to come down here every time."

"I know." Elizabeth accepts his hug, smiling slightly as she pulls away. "Are they done spending time with him yet?"

"Just finishing the paperwork." Justus assures, gesturing to the desk officer who is currently putting the papers together. "You can go in and see him if you want."

"Don't mind if I do." Elizabeth taps the desk to get the officer's attention. "Do me a favor and speed those up. It doesn't take forever to put together release papers for someone that wasn't charged with anything."

Walking away before the officer could say anything, she leaves Justus with a smirk on his face as she pulls open the door and walks into the interrogation room. The moment she walks in, she'd be lying if she said that she didn't expect the scene that greeted her. Jason sitting with a bored expression on his face while Lieutenant Taggert stands by boiling with anger.

"Elizabeth Webber." Taggert utters her name with disappointment. "Don't you ever get tired of picking him up when he gets arrested?"

"Don't you ever get tired of arresting him without probable cause?" Elizabeth looks at him intently, standing her grown like she has many times before. "I mean, really Lieutenant, if you want to spend time with Jason so much, ask him out on a date. Unless, of course, you consider this foreplay. If so, you really need help. I hear, Dr. Collins is a really good psychiatrist. I'm sure he'd be willing to help you with your issues."

"You see what you've done, Morgan." Taggert glares daggers at Jason, who was doing his best to hide the smirk from his face. "She used to be a decent girl before you got your hooks into her."

"And you used to be a decent cop before you became obsessed with Jason." Elizabeth counters, turning to see Justus sign for Jason's release and hold up the paper. "And that, Lieutenant Taggert, is your cue to release Jason."

Grumbling something incoherent beneath his breath, Taggert pulls out his keys for the handcuffs and removes the contraption from Jason's wrists. Rising to his feet, Jason breezes past Taggert and pulls open the door for Elizabeth to walk out.

"One of these days, he's going to get you killed." Taggert gives his usual parting threat, one they both have heard one too many times.

"Yeah, yeah." Elizabeth looks at him seriously. "And one of these days you'll be struck by lightening or hit by a car. Its a dangerous world out there, detective. No one's ever truly safe."

Walking out of the interrogation room with Jason, they stop long enough to thank Justus for getting there as fast as he did before making their way out of the police station and getting into the comfort of Elizabeth's car.

"Honestly, Jason, I think he has a crush on you." Elizabeth comments as she hands him the key. "His tactics are a little grade school, I'll admit, but why else would he pick on you so much?"

"That's a visual I really don't need." Jason says seriously, starting up the car and driving them away from the station. "By the way, your new car is just about done. Once the bullet resistant windows are installed, it'll be set for you to drive."

"What kind of car are you buying me? A tank?" Elizabeth looks at him seriously. "Next you'll tell me that you want me to wear a bullet resistant jacket everywhere I go."

"Now that you mention it..."

"Don't even." Elizabeth cuts him off. "Its bad enough I let you and Francis convince me to let you buy me a new car. I draw the line at body armor."

"You know, they're coming up with armor that's not that heavy." Jason points out, taking the turn that will put them in Kelly's parking lot. "You'll barely notice you have it on."

"I'm not wearing body armor." Elizabeth says seriously, looking at him in disbelief. "Can we drop it?"

"What makes you think you're not already wearing it?" Jason points out, shutting off the car and getting down before she has a chance to process what he just said.

"You didn't..." Elizabeth looks down at her jacket, unable to believe it. Getting out of the car, she quickly walks up to him. "Jason, tell me this jacket isn't some kind of prototype of your miracle armor."

"Can't." Jason hands her back her keys before straddling his bike. "And its not a prototype. Its Stan's first completed bullet resistant jacket."

"What happened to my other jacket?" Elizabeth looks at him, unable to believe that she didn't notice he had switched the jackets.

"Somewhere safe." Jason assures, starting up his bike. "Wanna go for a ride?"

"I cannot believe you switched jackets on me." Elizabeth shakes her head, straddling the bike behind him and strapping on the helmet. "I want that jacket back, Jason."

"Whatever you say." Jason smirks, kicking the bike off its stand before taking off, having fully expected her reaction to the jacket.

Riding off into the night, the cold no longer bothers Elizabeth as they speed down the open road, taking the turn that'll land them on the winding road. It was the same every time she's on the back of his bike. The rest of the world no longer mattered, nothing but the bike beneath her, the man in front of her and chasing the wind. Nothing but pure freedom.


	2. Chapter 2

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

Dropping her paintbrush onto her supply cart, Elizabeth looks at her the completed painting that she has been working on for weeks. Ever since Lila took Elizabeth into her garden, she swore that she'd get the beauty and grace of Lila's roses onto a canvas and she's finally done it.

Taking a step back to admire the final product of her hard work, she had to admit that she was actually satisfied with her work. With most of her paintings, Elizabeth always seemed to find a flaw in them, never quite getting the emotions right, but this painting wasn't like all those other paintings.

In fact, it was like only one other painting she's created, it was like the Wind. Which, obviously, made this painting of Lila's roses her second favorite piece of her collection. Like that painting, this painting isn't for her. Its for the beautiful woman who brought those roses to life.

Checking the time, Elizabeth realizes that she's running a little behind schedule, rushing through washing her brushes before grabbing her painting for Lila and booking it out of her studio. If she drives fast enough, she'll get there just in time.

Driving up to the entrance of Harbor View Towers, she waits long enough for Jason to get into the passenger seat before taking off down the road once again. Jason usually always drives whenever they ride together, but the days he visits his grandmother are the only exception to that.

To quote Jason, she's his get away driver. Taking the Quartermaines into consideration, it wasn't unwarranted for him to need one. As unpredictable as those people can be, there was no telling how they'd treat him when he gets there. Taking him housing Emily in his penthouse and getting arrested at Kelly's the night before, it wasn't hard to guess how they'd treat him today.

"You sure you're okay with not going in?" Jason asks her as they pull into the Quartermaine driveway.

"I'm sure." Elizabeth reaches back and hands him the painting for Lila. "I'm having tea with her tomorrow."

"Okay." he accepts her reasoning, opening his door to get down. "Ten minutes, if I'm not out of there..."

"I'll come in and rescue the Qs." she laughs softly at his expression, watching as he gets down and shuts the door. "If anything does happen to you, can I have your penthouse?"

"Ha. Ha." he rolls his eyes, turning away from the car to head to the house. "Someone's got jokes today."

"Thank you for noticing." she laughs when he just shakes his head and keeps going. Turning on the radio to listen to music she mutters, "Big baby."

While she sings to whatever song was playing on the radio, not getting a single word right yet still singing anyway, Jason makes his way up the pathway to the house. Reaching the door, he slips inside, instantly coming into view of his grandmother.

"Jason, dear."

"How are you, Grandmother?" Jason asks, truly curious about her as opposed to the rest of the family.

"Much better now that you're here." Lila smiles that beautiful smile of hers, truly thankful for his presence. "And you, my dear? How are you doing? Edward told me you were arrested outside of Kelly's yesterday."

"I'm okay, it was nothing." he assures, lifting the painting and placing it onto her lap. "Elizabeth asked me to give you this."

"Oh, it is so beautiful." Lila takes the painting, truly taken away by the beauty displayed on the canvas. "She has such a beautiful way of looking at things, don't you think?"

"Yeah...that she does."

Like he could have predicted, the moment between him and his grandmother is cut short by Monica walking into the room. The most cliche of questions escapes her lips and he swears that he's sick of hearing it. They seemed to think that his presence there is only brought on by something wrong happening. Then, of course, Alan comes in to add to the accusations.

"Grandmother, it was nice to see you." Jason says to Lila, wanting out of there as fast as possible.

"Jason..." she stops him from leaving, looking up at him lovingly. "Will you help me hang this up before you leave?"

"Sure." he says without hesitation, pushing his grandmother out of the room as Monica says it was nice to see him and Alan says goodbye. "Yeah. Goodbye."

Helping his grandmother find the right place to hang it up, Jason does his best to hang it up where she can admire it. While he does that, Elizabeth is surprised by a knock on the top of the car, seeing Ned standing outside her door.

"Oh, hey, Ned." Elizabeth greets him, smiling slightly.

"Get away driver, I presume?" Ned says jokingly. "Jason inside?"

"Yeah, he's visiting Lila." Elizabeth concedes, turning down the radio. "I haven't heard any gunshots, so, I'm assuming everything's still good."

"Smart woman." Ned laughs softly. "See you later, Liz."

"Sure."

As Ned is going into the house, Jason comes walking out, acknowledging Ned on his way out. The moment he gets into the car, he tells her to get them out of there, strapping in as she puts the car into drive and speeds out of the driveway. She knew better than to ask how it went, the look on his told her enough. So, instead, they simply sit in silence as they head back to his penthouse.

"What is that?" Elizabeth question when they walk into his penthouse and hear noises coming from upstairs. "You don't think..."

"Don't even finish that sentence." Jason says, shutting the door behind them. "Put on a movie...something loud. I'm gonna get drinks."

"You hate watching movies." she points out as she walks over to his entertainment center that he had recently installed, thanks to Emily.

"Just put something on!"

Laughing at his expense, Elizabeth picks the movie with the most explosions and slides it into the DVD player before settling back against the couch and starting it up. After a long moment, Jason comes walking out of the kitchen with a couple beers for him and a couple coke bottles for her.

"You know, I really doubt they're..."

"Don't." Jason snatches the remote from her, jacking up the sound even more. "I don't care what they're doing. I just don't need to have that noise etched into my memory."

"Aw, Jason." Elizabeth leans against him, hooking her arm through his. "I bet you didn't see this coming when you agreed for her to live with you."

"You think she'd be here if I did?" Jason sighs, settling into the couch. "You gonna stay over tonight?"

"That depends." Elizabeth laughs softly. "Is Zander?"

"Over his dead body."

"That's not how the expression goes."

"No, I said it right." Jason says plainly, arching his eyebrow at her. "You staying over or not?"

"Yeah." she concedes, taking a gulp of her drink. "As much as I sleep over here, I should just move in."

"Maybe you should."

"Ha. Ha." Elizabeth nudges him before leaning against him to watch the movie. "Now look who's got the jokes."


	3. Chapter 3

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

Alarm blaring on the side table, Elizabeth stretches her body, forcing herself to get out of bed and shut off the alarm. She's been slacking lately where exercising is concerned and she swore last week that she will keep to her morning run. So far so good.

Rummaging through the clothes that she leaves at Jason's penthouse, she pulls out one of her exercise outfits before making her way into the bathroom to wash her face and get changed. By the time she's done, she has successfully woken herself up enough to go running.

"Morning run?" Jason questions when she walks down the stairs. "I honestly didn't think you'd stick with it."

"Oh, ye of little faith." Elizabeth counters, walking over to the couch to find her MP3 player. "Jason, do you know where my..."

"Its on the desk." Jason gestures to his desk before reaching for his gun in the closet. "And I filled up your water bottle earlier. Its on the kitchen counter by the microwave."

"Thank you." she smiles slightly, walking into the kitchen to grab the bottle of water before taking her MP3 from the desk. "Where you headed? Or am I not supposed to ask?"

"The warehouse." Jason says simply, shutting the door once his gun is secured at the small of his back. "Max will be waiting downstairs to go running with you."

"Max?" Elizabeth looks at him skeptically. "Really?"

"I know, but Johnny's doing something for Sonny and Francis is...busy." Jason shakes his head at her expression. "Take it easy on him, okay? I do need him at the warehouse later."

"Yeah, yeah." Elizabeth hooks her music player to her shirt before slipping the earphones into place. "Its not my fault the guy eats more calories than he burns."

"Just try not to kill him." Jason pulls open the door, gesturing for her to walk out first. "Come on, we'll go down together."

"You know, when you laid out your terms for us being friends, you left out the part of treating me like the president's daughter." Elizabeth points out, getting on the elevator with him. "Do we really need to put Max through the torture of running with me?"

"First of all, your security detail is a lot better than the president's daughter." Jason says seriously, hitting the button for the lobby. "And, second of all, you said that I could take whatever measures I thought was necessary to keep you safe."

"I know, I just..."

"Unless you want to stop being friends." Jason arches his eyebrow curiously. "Just say the word and I'll make it happen."

"Now, that's just cruel." Elizabeth nudges his shoulder. "Fine, you win."

Waiting long enough for the elevator to hit the lobby floor, Jason and Elizabeth make their way through the lobby to the front door. Just as they are about to walk out of the building, Elizabeth stops Jason by placing her hand on his arm. A thought hitting her just then.

"You wouldn't really end our friendship again, would you?" Elizabeth looks at him seriously, needing to know if he'd walk out on her like he did last year.

"No. I wouldn't." he assures, pushing the door open. "Go on. I'll see you later."

Shaking her head, Elizabeth jogs over to where Max is waiting, doing the usually small talk before they take off into a run. Watching from the door, Jason waits for them to round the corner before making his way to the parking garage to get his bike.

The thought of ending his friendship with Elizabeth floats around his mind while he rides to the warehouse. He'd be lying if he didn't think she'd be safer without him in her life, but he'd also be lying if he said that he could walk away without looking back. He tried that once and he failed miserably.

He'd also be the first to admit that he's going a little overboard on the measures he's taken to keep her safe, but he just couldn't risk anything happening to her. If he can't put distance between him and Elizabeth, the least he could do was take every precaution to ensure nothing bad ever happens to her.

"Hey, I heard you made Max join Liz on her morning run." Johnny comments as he drops a few bags of garbage on the warehouse floor. "How'd he take that?"

"Exactly how you think." Jason says simply, grabbing the shipment logs from where Francis stored them the night before. "Its not gonna kill him to exercise a little."

"You say that because you've never gone running with her." Johnny counters, ripping open the bags and dumping out the contents. "Like digging through this trash, you won't know what's its like until you try it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Jason shakes his head, heading to the stairs to his office. "Don't forget to clean that up when you're done."

"That's what the newbies are for." Johnny shouts before looking down at the trash in front of him, muttering "And, if Sonny didn't want to keep the information on a need-to-know, they'd be the ones rummaging through this crap."

While Johnny drops to his knees to rummage through the trash, Jason locks himself in the office to go over the shipments that have docked. Comparing the shipment inventory and seeing if there were evidence of skimming from any of the merchandise. While they go about their business, Max and Elizabeth make their way down to the docks to stretch.

"Come on, Liz." Max breathes heavily, trying to stretch his aching limbs. "Give a guy a break and say we're done."

"We've barely even gotten started." Elizabeth counters, stretching her legs. "Trust me, Max, you'll be thanking me for this one day."

"Don't hold your breath." Max counters, shaking his head. "Seriously, I'll give you anything you want! Just, please, don't make me run any further."

"Oh, man up." Elizabeth slips her earphones back into place. "Two more miles and we can call it a day."

"You're trying to kill me." Max counters, moving into his starting position. "What did I ever do to you, Liz?"

Shaking her head, Elizabeth takes off into a run, Max doing his best to keep up. Normally he's okay with running, but the way that Elizabeth runs...suffice to say that it could damn well kill him if he were to do it every day. She runs sprints then jogs then sprints again. The last time he agreed to take her running, she took him up the winding road, all the way up to Vista Point.

"Are...are...we done?" Max says between gasps, stopping outside of Kelly's.

"Yes." she assures, taking a deep breath before letting it out again. "We're done."

"Water anyone?" Tammy questions, walking out with a gallon of water, noticing it was Max that was with Elizabeth.

"Oh, Tammy, you're a godsend." Max snatches the gallon from Tammy, popping off the cover before downing it. "Water has never tasted so good."

"Try not to drown yourself. Jason won't forgive me if you don't show up at the warehouse later." Elizabeth shakes her head, turning to Tammy. "Can I get a hot chocolate and a coffee, black, to go."

"Coming right up." Tammy laughs softly at Max, who is still downing the water. "How far did you guys run?"

"I wanted to go up to Vista Point, but he begged me not to." Elizabeth shrugs. "So...not that far."

Waiting long enough for her order, Elizabeth pays Tammy before walking with Max to the warehouse where Jason'll be waiting for him. She kind of felt bad for running him so badly, but that wasn't on her. It was Jason's idea to have someone run with her. Its not her fault that she enjoys running and tends to go overboard with it.

"Here's Max." Elizabeth says to Jason when they get to his office. "As you can see, he's still standing."

"Barely." Max adds, looking at Jason intently. "What do you want me to do now?"

"Go see Johnny." Jason says simply. "He'll have something for you to do."

"Kay." Max shakes his head before turning to Elizabeth. "Remind me to never go running with you again."

"Think of it this way, Max." Elizabeth counters. "You just made room for your favorite triple chocolate fudge cake that you have for dessert every night."

"I thought I asked you to take it easy on him." Jason says, closing the door behind Max and accepting the cup of coffee from her. "He can barely walk."

"I did take it easy on him." Elizabeth insists, sitting on the edge of his desk. "I didn't make him run to Vista Point like last time."

"You know what, from now on I'm gonna be your running partner." Jason says, sitting on his desk chair, looking at her seriously. "By the time you're done with my guards, they'll be useless to me."

"You're gonna run with me?"

"Yeah." Jason's confused by the humor in her eyes. "Why's that funny?"

"No reason." she shakes her head, a slight smirk on her lips. "This is gonna be fun."


	4. Chapter 4

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

Taking a long hot bath, Elizabeth soaks her body in an attempt to ease her aching body, the affects of her run starting to set in. Once she gets her body thoroughly relaxed, she pulls herself out of the bathtub to get dressed for tea with Lila.

Throwing on her most conservative outfit that she had picked up from her studio earlier, Elizabeth takes her time to fix her hair and put on a light amount of makeup. More than anything, she just wants to look her best when she sees Lila. After everything Lila has done for her over the years, she just wanted to show the woman the respect she deserves, which meant taking her time to get ready.

"Zander." Elizabeth catches him off guard as he's walking out of Emily's room. "Don't look so surprised."

"Uh, hi, Liz." Zander glances around. "You look nice today."

"Oh, relax already." Elizabeth says, walking past him. "Jason's not here."

"He isn't?" Zander questions with hope. "So, its just you?"

"Its just me." Elizabeth walks down the stairs, followed by Zander, who is still looking around for Jason. "He's at work."

"Oh." Zander lets out a breath of relief. "Okay."

"Where's Em?"

"She had a headache." Zander explains, securing his jacket around him. "She's taking a nap."

"As always, Zander, its been...something." Elizabeth pulls open the door, turning to look back at him. "Tell Em that I hope she feels better."

Shaking her head, she continues her venture out of Harbor View Towers, making her way down to her car and heading to the Quatermaine estate. A few feet ahead of her car and a few feet behind, keeping their distance but stopping any cars from cutting in between are her ever so vigilant guards. If she didn't already meet all the guards on her detail, she swears she'd feel creeped out by them.

"Lila." Elizabeth greets lovingly, walking into the house through the same doors that Jason had the other day. "You look beautiful."

"Oh, please, dear, you are the one that looks beautiful." Lila shakes her head, accepting the soft kiss upon her cheek. "I had Reginald set up our tea on the back patio. Shall we?"

"Yes, we shall." Elizabeth smiles softly, walking behind Lila and pushing her out onto the back patio, right up to the table. "Can I ask how you've been?"

"I've been fine, dear." Lila assures, waiting for Elizabeth to fill her cup before adding sugar and cream. "Much more so after receiving your painting. You truly have an eye for beauty."

"I'm glad you liked it." Elizabeth couldn't begin to explain how much that meant to her. "Your roses are just so beautiful and majestic that I wasn't sure I'd be able to do them justice."

"Oh, hush." Lila takes a sip of her tea. "You did wonderfully. I wouldn't have trusted anyone but you to paint my roses because I know you have such a beautiful way of looking at the world."

Not wanting Lila to compliment her painting for a moment longer, talk switches to other things in their lives, other people. They talk about the family, Edward's latest rantings and ravings, as well as Jason and Emily. They touch on the topic of her grandmother before leaving it alone altogether. Just as their tea is coming to an end, Alan and Monica come walking out onto the back patio.

"Elizabeth?" Monica looks at her questioningly. "Is Emily with you?"

"No...its just me." Elizabeth stands up to look at them. "Its nice to see you, Mr. and Mrs. Quatermaine."

"Of course, its nice to see you, too, Elizabeth." Alan supplies, smiling slightly. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

"Talk about what?" Elizabeth counters, looking at them curiously.

"Well, we both know that you are close friends with both Emily and Jason." Monica explains, obviously doing her best to word it right. "We were just hoping you'd talk to Emily about coming back home."

"We'd also appreciate it if you get Jason to help you convince her." Alan says carefully. "We know why she moved away, but she's still young. She should be here with her family."

"We'd never want you to compromise your position as her friend, but we know that she'd at least consider it if it came from you." Monica elaborates further. "If it were you and Jason to talk to her about it, we're almost certain that she'd realize this is where she belongs."

"You're right." Elizabeth shakes her head when they look hopeful. "I am close to Jason and Emily. Which means that I'll always respect their choices and accept the paths they choose."

"Elizabeth..." Monica tries to push further but Elizabeth stops her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do what you're asking." Elizabeth turns to Lila, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Thank you for tea, Lila. Spending time with you is truly a highlight of my day."

"Same time next week?" Lila asks with a soft smile.

"Definitely." Elizabeth says without hesitation. "I'll even bring brownies."

"I can't wait." Lila watches as Elizabeth turns to Monica and Alan, truly proud of how she's handling them.

"I'll talk to Emily and see where her heads at." Elizabeth says simply, securing her jacket around her. "But as far as convincing her to come back...she didn't do it when I left my Gram's house and I won't do it to her."

Granting Lila one last smile, Elizabeth exits the estate the way she came, truly feeling sorry for both Alan and Monica. She can understand where they're coming from, but Emily won't listen to anyone, no matter who talks to her about. If Emily's ever going to go back, Monica and Alan need to have a real conversation with her and really listen to her.

The problem with that is that Quartermaines don't tend to listen. Especially not when they believe they know what's best for the ones they love. If they're not careful, they'll push her away the same way they pushed away Jason. They also need to realize that neither of them are right or wrong and the best way to solve it is to talk.

"Hey." Elizabeth catches Jason as he's heading onto the elevator, heading up to the penthouse. "Just getting back?"

"Yeah." Jason shakes his head, waiting for her to get on before hitting the button for his floor. "How was tea with grandmother?"

"It was good." Elizabeth says simply. "Up until Monica and Alan asked me to convince you to talk to Emily about moving back."

"You, too, huh?" Jason sighs, running his hand through his hair. "They need to stop asking people to do their job. She's their daughter, they should be the ones handling it."

"Anyway, I'm just here to get my charcoal pencil set." Elizabeth concedes, stepping off the elevator when the doors open. "I'm pretty sure they're under the couch...right?"

"They should be." Jason says after some thought. "Wait...you're not staying over tonight?"

"Nope." she shakes her head, waiting for him to unlock the door. "I'm gonna stay at my studio tonight...I just have this image in my head that I want to paint. You know how that goes."

"Yeah...I know."

Standing by the door, Jason watches as she looks under the couch for her charcoal pencils, it takes a while be she finds it eventually. A part of him didn't want her to stay at her studio, but he knew that he couldn't stop her. Especially when she's this intent on painting, which usually keeps her focus well into the night before she crashes out on her couch.

"You got everything you need?" Jason asks as she secures her backpack on her shoulder.

"Yup." Elizabeth pulls open the door. "See you tomorrow for our run?"

"Yeah...I'll pick you up."

"Okay." she leans over, kissing his cheek. "Goodnight, Jason."

"Goodnight."

Leaving Harbor View Towers, her usual shadows follow her to her studio, making sure she gets inside okay before stationing themselves in their usual spots through the building. As she's setting up for a long night of painting, Jason pops off the top of a bottle of beer before standing by the double doors.

From his spot by the windows he can hear his sister and Zander laughing upstairs. A part of him wanted to go up there and throw Zander out the window, but he knew better than to do that. His sister's going through enough, she didn't need him killing her boyfriend.

As he listens to them, he starts thinking about what he and Elizabeth would be doing to take his mind off the fact that his sister's dating a complete idiot. Shaking his head, he downs his beer before putting it on the edge of his pool table. Walking over to the door, he grabs his jacket from the hook and his gun from the table before walking out of the penthouse.

A little while later, there's a knock on Elizabeth's door, pulling her out of her creative bubble to answer the door. Pulling it open, she laughs softly before stepping aside, letting Jason walk past her into her studio. Shutting the door, she watches as he walks towards the closet, pulling out the cot from where they store it.

"Should have known." Elizabeth says simply, walking over to sit in front of her painting. "Miss me already?"

"Yeah." Jason admits, shrugging out of his jacket before setting his gun down on the pillow.

"Well, since you're here, maybe you can stretch canvases for me." Elizabeth suggests, gesturing to the frames and canvases on the floor. "Wouldn't want me to get another splinter, right?"

"Right." Jason laughs softly, grabbing the nail gun from her table. "You know, you can tell me if you want to be alone."

"I know." Elizabeth picks up her paintbrush, smiling softly. "You gonna get started or what?"

"Yes, boss." Jason shakes his head when she laughs softly, grabbing a frame and canvas to get started. "Whatever you say."


	5. Chapter 5

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

Waking to the buzzing sound of his watch alarm, Jason runs one hand over his face to wipe away the fatigue from his eyes. As the fog lifts from his eyes and they begin to focus, a soft smile touches his lips as Elizabeth comes into view, laying right beside him on the cot. They had spent the whole night talking until their fatigue got the better of them and they decided to call it a night.

Like watching her paint or riding with her on his bike, seeing her in this moment never ceases to take his breath away. From the way she tucks her hands under her head, swearing its more comfortable than a pillow, to the way her bangs fall across her face, even that small smile that touches her lips...everything about the way she sleeps truly captivates him to no end.

As his hand reaches over to move her hair from her face, Jason shakes his head before dropping his hand to his side. With a sigh, he sits up in bed, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment before rising to his feet. Sometimes he just gets so caught up in her that he can't help but get lost in the moment.

Making his way over to the coffee maker that he had bought her a couple weeks ago, Jason starts a fresh pot, needing as much caffeine as he can get if he's supposed to go running with her later. From how the guys act, he couldn't even begin to guess how their first run together will go.

"Hey." Jason sits down beside her in bed once the coffee's done, a cup of coffee, just the way she likes it, in his hand. "Its time to wake up."

"Mm...five more minutes." she mutters, snuggling deeper into the blanket. "I'm having the best dream ever."

"Come on, you can dream again tonight." Jason gently waves the cup of coffee under her nose. "Come on, you know you want to get up."

"Fine." she says simply, moving into a sitting position before taking the cup of coffee from him. "Just for that, we're running up to Vista Point."

"Whatever you say." Jason laughs softly at her grumpy mood. "Just get up already. I still have to go to work after our run."

"And I have to go to class." Elizabeth points out, swinging her legs over the side of the bed once he stands up. "So, we'll just see who makes it through the day after we're done with our run."

The two friends go about their morning routines, getting ready for their impending run, waking themselves up enough to endure the run ahead of them. Elizabeth couldn't help the smile on her face as they made their way out of her studio and down to the docks. Jason just didn't know what was ahead of him and she liked it like that.

"Ready?" Elizabeth questions, arching her eyebrow teasingly. "If you want to back out, just say the word."

"Lets just do this." Jason says simply, lowering into a starting position right beside her. "We're running. Its not that hard."

"If you say so." Elizabeth smirks. "Lets do this then."

Taking off into a run, Elizabeth's impressed with how easy it seemed for him to keep up with her, sticking by her side for a good distance. That was, of course, before she started doing her own technique in running. Sprinting then jogging, switching to average paced running and back to sprinting again.

Taking the path with the most ups and downs, they make their way through the park and jumping over obstacles in their path. Like fire hydrants, for example. Though he keeps a good distance between them, he was still falling behind slightly and that made her push even harder. Running was fun to start with, but running with Jason was definitely something else.

"Ready to give up?" Elizabeth asks him as they stop at the edge of the park to stretch.

"Not even close." Jason says, his breathing starting to get heavy. "This is nothing."

"If you say so." she laughs softly, lowering into her starting position. "Lets see how you like running the winding road."

Once again they take off into a run, going back through the up and down road to make their way to the road that will land them on the direct path to the winding road. Sprinting, jogging, running, jogging and sprinting again. Their hearts beating a thousand miles in their chest, adrenaline coursing through their veins, they make their way up the winding road. All the way up to Vista Point.

"This place never looks better than when I run here." Elizabeth comments, stretching her legs once more. "Don't you think?"

"I think that I just might offer you a job." Jason controls his breathing as he stretches his legs. "The new guards can do with a stronger stamina."

"So could some of the older guards." she points out, stretching her arms. "If you're serious, I just might be into that."

"Of course you would be." Jason laughs, rolling his head from side to side. "You'd be in charge of a bunch of hard core guys who have to follow your every order."

"Well, since you put it that way..." she laughs, shaking her head. "Are you serious, Jason? Are you really offering me a job?"

"Yeah." Jason says after some thought. "I'm really offering you a job."

"Then I accept." she says simply, lowering into her starting position. "Ready to go again?"

"After you."

He watches her take off into a run, shaking his head, laughing softly at the thought of her ordering around the new recruits along with a few of the older guards...it would definitely be a sight to see. After she gets a good distance away, Jason takes off into a run, doing his best to keep up with her, actually finding it a little easier to keep up with her than when they first started.

Making their way back through town, Jason and Elizabeth slow down to a jog before slowing down further to a walk. Getting to Harbor View Towers, they make their way up to his penthouse, letting themselves in before grabbing a towel from the linen closet and toweling off.

"I have to hand it to you, you have one hell of a running style." Jason comments, standing in front of her, the towel hanging over his shoulder.

"I'm glad you noticed." Elizabeth smiles slightly, staring up at him. "I guess, I have to admit that I didn't think you'd be able to keep up."

"Disappointed that I did?"

"No. I'm glad you did." she shakes her head. "It wouldn't have been as much fun if you didn't."

Reaching up one hand, Jason gently tucks her bangs behind her ear, gaining full access to her beautiful blue eyes. For a moment they stand that way, his hand gently caressing her cheek, but the moment is broken when they hear Emily and Zander getting ready to walk downstairs.

"You should get washed up." Elizabeth steps away, shaking her head. "Wouldn't want to be late for work, right?"

"Right." Jason says simply. "And you have classes to get to."

"Yeah...I do." Elizabeth takes a deep breath before moving towards the door. "I'll just get ready at my studio...all my stuff for school is there, anyway."

"See you later?"

"Yeah." she assures, pulling open the door. "Definitely."

"Okay." he managed to get out just before she walks out of the door, closing it behind her. "What just happened?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

Staring at the same page for the last hour, Jason just couldn't get his head to focus on work, not when things seem to be changing with Elizabeth. It wasn't obvious changes, certainly no one else would notice them, but he does. Its subtle and he doesn't really mind the subtle changes. Its what the subtle changes can lead to.

Slamming the file shut, he opens his desk and tosses it in, knowing that it was pointless to stare at the stupid thing when he wasn't going to remember a single thing on the page. Not with everything floating through his mind and the many questions that have found its way into his head.

"Hey, Jase, you got a minute?" Francis pokes his head in, receiving the infamous blank glare. "Whoa, what's up with you?"

"Nothing." Jason states plainly. "What do you want?"

"Just got off the phone with Liz." Francis concedes, walking inside and shutting the door behind him. "You really hiring her?"

"Yeah. I'm really hiring her." Jason says simply, rising to his feet to pour himself a cup of coffee. "She needs a job and the men need to lose some weight."

"Can't argue with you there." Francis says simply, having pointed out that very fact on more than one occasion, but willing to let it slide. "Have you spoken to Sonny about it?"

"No." Jason had thought about talking to Sonny, but he didn't see the point. He's hiring her and he'll be paying her. What did it matter if Sonny knew or not? "That it?"

"Just about." Francis assures, looking at him intently. "Have you made a list of who she'll be training? We can't exactly put all of our men through her course."

"All the new recruits." Jason thinks about it for a moment. "And a few of the more seasoned guards."

"That's still a lot of men."

"They all need it." Jason states, going for the file again, knowing that he'll be able to focus on it now that Francis has irritated him with his constant questions. "I'll iron out the details with Liz tonight."

"Okay." Francis concedes, figuring that it would be better to let them handle it. "Which seasoned guards are we talking about, though?"

"Ritchie and Marco." Jason looks up from the file. "Max, as well."

"Oh, he's gonna love that." Francis says sarcastically, but knowing that Max could use the class, maybe a little more than everyone else. "If you're really going to do this, I'm gonna sit in on it. Make sure the guys aren't being stupid."

"You know she won't let you just sit in." Jason points out. "She'll make you join the training."

"I know." Francis smirks, rising to his feet to head out. "Anyway, what I really came in here to tell you is that her car is ready. I'm gonna go pick her up from class later to go over all the features."

"Its ready?" Jason looks at him pointedly. "Every detail I specified?"

"Down to the thickest tires that Stan could design without compromising the efficiency of the car." Francis assures. "She means a lot to me, too, Jase. So, when I say the car's ready, the car's ready."

"I know." Jason sighs, knowing how stupid he had sounded just then. "Go ahead. Just tell Johnny to come up on your way out."

"Will do."

Heading out of the warehouse, Francis passes on Jason's message to Johnny before heading to PCU to wait for Elizabeth to finish up her last class of the day. A slight smirk on his face the whole way, already picturing her reaction in his mind.

There were a few ways she could react to the car, but each one of them included her accusing him and Jason of taking it too far and him telling her that every precaution was justified. They'll get into a huge argument about what's justified and what's paranoid, ending with her accepting the car.

"Hey." Johnny says, walking into the office and plopping down onto the chair across from Jason. "What's up?"

"I need you to make copies of this memo and pass it out to everyone on this list." Jason hands him both sheets, receiving a disbelieving look from Johnny. "What? Have you decided that making copies is also beneath you?"

"Why can't you get one of the newer men to work this?" Johnny counters, seriously hating that he's been getting the low end jobs for a while now. "Or get a secretary...yeah, this place can do with a woman's touch...even if I do say so myself."

"Read the memo." Jason states plainly. "If you'd bother to read it, you'll see that I'm doing you a favor by letting you be the one to hand it out."

"Oh, really now?" Johnny scoffs before looking down at the memo, reading it through before having to read it again. Switching to the list of people that would be receiving the memo, he couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled up and roared out of him. "Oh, Max is gonna love this."

"So I've heard." Jason says plainly. "And thanks to your big mouth, you can just add yourself to that list."

"What?!" Johnny looks at him in shock. "No way! I don't need to train with her. I don't have any body fat to lose!"

"That may be true, but you're gonna assist her along side Francis regardless." Jason says simply, gesturing to the door. "Training starts tomorrow. Get it done."

Grumbling about his big ass mouth on the way out, Johnny gets to work on making copies of the memo before tracking down each and every person on the list to give them the memo. He had to admit, though, that seeing Max's face after reading the memo was worth the price of his big mouth going off. A part of him actually wants to see her in action. Knowing, when it comes to Elizabeth, anything could happen.

While Johnny finishes up the list, having started with the seasoned guards first, Francis spots Elizabeth coming out of her class and waves her over. With a soft smile on her face, she makes her way over to him, allowing him to scoop her up into a warm embrace before she notices the car he's standing beside.

"Is this it?" Elizabeth questions, gesturing to the car. "Is this my car?"

"Yes it is." Francis watches as she walks around the car, getting a good look at it. "I'm here to give you a tour of your car before I hand over the keys."

"I'm gonna hate it, right?"

"You never know until you get in." Francis says simply, opening up the passenger door before gesturing for her to get in. "You ready?"

Looking at him for a moment, Elizabeth slides into the passenger seat before tossing her book bag onto the backseat. Once he gets into the driver's seat, he starts with the basics. Pretty much everything that Jason had told her about already. Bullet resistant windows, bomb resistant interior as well as exterior, and puncture resistant tires.

"On the off chance that someone does blow out one of your tires, they have a backup mechanism that allows you to drive on the flat for at least a thousand miles." Francis explains, starting up the car and putting it in drive. "Every feature in this car is designed to keep you safe and prevent you from being taken. Now, before you start telling me that we've gone overboard, I want you to hear me out."

"I like it." Elizabeth says simply, flipping through the manual that he had given her, a user friendly at that. "I appreciate the restraint it must have taken to actually make it look like a car and not a tank."

"Its close enough." Francis retorts, looking at her curiously. "You're really okay with all the features in the car?"

"Sure." Elizabeth shrugs, tossing the manual onto the back seat with her stuff. "Of course, I'm gonna have to study up on it tonight before bed if I'm gonna drive it tomorrow."

"Oookkkaay...who are you and what have you done with Elizabeth?" Francis counters, stopping at a red light. "You can't be Elizabeth if you're okay with all the features we've put into this thing."

"Is it overboard, yeah. Pointless? Maybe." Elizabeth shakes her head. "I mean, there are at least four guards on me at all times and when I'm not being guarded by them, I'm with Jason. So, yeah...it does seem a little redundant to me, but I agreed to it and I always stay true to my word."

"There are three emergency hand guns stashed throughout the car." Francis counters, watching as her eyes grow bigger. "Not to mention the bullet resistant jackets that are stored in the back of each seat."

"No...I'm not going to do it." Elizabeth takes a deep breath, shaking her head. "Nice try, though, but I'm not going to tell you how ridiculous you are for putting guns in my car. I'm not going to tell you that you have to be completely insane if you think I'm ever going to use a gun, much less shoot at someone with it. I'm not going to tell you that I will kick your ass if I ever have to use one...nope. I'm not going to tell you any of that."

"You just did." Francis laughs softly, stepping on the gas again. "Okay, now I believe its you."

Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth looks out the window as they make their way to Jason's penthouse. She knew that he was baiting her to call them on their insanity, but she couldn't help it. The fact that she technically owns three guns just wasn't sitting well with her. She also knows that she wouldn't tell them to take it out of the car. Life in Port Charles was just too unpredictable for her to tell them to do that.

"Hey." Jason greets her when he comes home hours later, surprised to find her relaxing in her robe on the couch. "Emily and Zander?"

"Relax. They're not here." Elizabeth laughs softly, watching as he takes off his jacket to hang it up, storing his gun in the desk drawer. "You think I'd be sitting here in my robe if he was here?"

"Point taken." Jason walks into the kitchen to grab a bottle of beer before sitting down on the club chair. "Where are they?"

"Dinner at the Quartermaines." Elizabeth shakes her head at his expression. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly. They even invited them to stay over there tonight...a show of good faith that they were trying to accept Zander in her life."

"So, what you're saying is that we finally have the penthouse to ourselves?" Jason counters, relaxing into the chair further.

"Yup." Elizabeth sets down her cup of hot cocoa. "For the first time in a long time, we actually have this place to ourselves. Which means, you don't have to endure another long movie to drown out their noises."

"Good." Jason groans, rolling his head from side to side. "I'm so wiped out, I probably would have just thrown him out of the window instead of just watching the movie."

"Come here." Elizabeth instructs, moving the coffee table and gesturing for him to sit on the floor. "Come on."

"What are you going to do?" Jason questions, obliging her regardless.

"I know that the aching can sneak up on you." Elizabeth says simply, moving her hands to rest on his shoulders before massaging them firmly. "If you're not used to my running style, it can take leave your body aching."

"Mm...don't stop." Jason sighs, his eyes slowly closing as she massages his neck and shoulders. "You should do this more often."

"Don't get used to this." Elizabeth says simply. "I'm not going to massage you every time you're in pain. That's what massage parlors are for."

"We'll just see about that." Jason laughs softly, groaning slightly when she slaps him.

"You know what you need?" Elizabeth says after a long moment, rising to her feet and eliciting a groan from Jason once her hands are off his shoulders.

"No, but I'm guessing you're gonna tell me."

"A nice hot bath." Elizabeth says matter-of-factly. "I'm gonna go get one started for you."

"You don't have to."

"I know." Elizabeth says simply, placing a soft kiss upon his forehead. "You relax...I'll call you once its ready for you."

Watching her sprint up the stairs, he couldn't help the slight smile that touches his face. Rising to his feet, he slides onto the couch before relaxing into the material. A part of him wanted to stop her from fussing over him, but a larger part couldn't help but like that she's willing to take care of him. Whenever she makes a fuss over him, it brings him back to that fateful winter in her studio, and the real start of their friendship.

Laying there on the couch, he couldn't help but make a silent prayer to the high heavens that whatever the subtle changes meant, whatever was happening between them, that it didn't lead to their friendship coming to an end. He couldn't handle that happening. Not after all this time they've spent together. No. Losing her would be worse than losing his own life. He couldn't bear it. He just couldn't.


	7. Chapter 7

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

Not really one to take baths, more of a shower kind of man, Jason had to admit that soaking in the hot bubble bath was doing wonders for his aching body. If this was wrong, he seriously didn't want to be right. It was like the tension was seeping out of his body, leaving it thoroughly relaxed. Something he couldn't even begin to complain about.

While he's soaking upstairs in his bathtub, Elizabeth is fixing up the living room, setting up a little picnic style dinner with food from Kelly's. As sad as this may be to admit, Elizabeth wanted to celebrate the fact that she didn't have to worry about Zander walking in on her in any given moment. Knowing that it was just her and Jason was something worth celebrating because now she just relax.

As much as she has accepted Zander and Emily together, she still couldn't get the fact out of her head that they had gotten close because he kidnapped her. With that memory frozen in the back of her mind, Elizabeth would never truly be able to see Zander in a friendly light. Sure, she can accept them, but it didn't mean she had to be friends with him or feel comfortable around him.

Putting a six pack of beer bottles on ice, she fixes his plate and hers before setting them down across from each other, knowing that he'll be out of the bath soon and downstairs once he's dressed. Taking a step back, she admires what she's done, knowing that he'd appreciate it while telling her that she didn't have to do it.

It always seems that way with him, which made her want to do more things for him. Whenever she went the extra mile, did something more for him than he asked, he tells her that she didn't have to. Of course he appreciates it, but she didn't have to go out of her way to do it. What girl wouldn't want to do more for a guy that didn't expect it?

"Liz?" Jason calls out to her when he walks downstairs to find the picnic dinner by the couch. "What is all this?"

"Dinner." Elizabeth walks out of the kitchen with napkins. "I figured I'd do something more than takeout on the couch since its just us."

"You didn't have to." Jason comments, walking over to sit down with her. "I don't mind having dinner on the couch."

"I know." she smiles, laughing softly. "I wanted to do something special, okay? Its been a really long time we've had dinner that didn't involve really loud music or movies to drown out Emily and Zander's noises upstairs."

"Okay." Jason says simply, accepting the beer she holds out to him. "You're right...a quiet picnic dinner does sound good right about now."

"Good." she shakes her head, handing him his fork. "Now, lets eat."

Dinner is eaten in a comfortable silence, both simply enjoying a peaceful dinner without any interruptions from either Emily or Zander walking around upstairs and opening or closing doors. He had to admit that having dinner like this, after the many weeks of having Emily living with him, was a true breath of fresh air. As much as he loves his sister, he really loves the peaceful silence without her there.

"Out of curiosity, did you tell Sonny about hiring me yet?" Elizabeth asks as she pushes her empty platter away, eyeing him intently.

"No. I haven't."

"Well...are you?"

"Why should I?" Jason looks at her curiously. "I'm hiring you, I'm paying you."

"Okay, that may be true, but you're both part owners." Elizabeth points out. "How would you like it if he hired Carly to...I don't know...redecorate your office at the warehouse without telling you?"

"Point taken." Jason shakes his head. "Fine. I'll tell him in the morning."

"Smart man."

"Anyway, speaking of tomorrow, Francis and Johnny are going to assist you during your training sessions." Jason concedes, popping the top off another beer bottle.

"What did Johnny do?" Elizabeth laughs softly at his expression. "Well, knowing Francis, I know he volunteered, but Johnny...not even."

"He didn't know when to shut up." Jason says simply. "So, are you okay with them helping out?"

"Sure." she shrugs, taking a swig of beer. "Why not? It'll be fun."

Just then, as if by some dumb luck, Emily comes barging into the penthouse with Zander close behind, rambling on about something that the Quartermaines did and something or another. Elizabeth and Jason watch as the two of them make their way upstairs, absolutely oblivious to what they had undoubtedly ruined. A peaceful dinner without them.

"Well, it was great while it lasted." Jason says plainly, running one hand down his face. "Do you wanna go check what happened?"

"Tomorrow." Elizabeth says simply, rising to her feet to put some music on. "She'll be fuming just the same in the morning."

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Jason asks when she walks back over to him with a soft smile on her lips.

"Yes." Elizabeth says simply, holding out her hand to him. "Dance with me."

Licking his lips slightly, he shakes his head before taking her hand and rising to his feet, pulling her in close as the song floats all around them, filling the room with a thumping melody, drowning out any sound the would be coming from upstairs.

Laying her head against his chest, Elizabeth closes her eyes, listening to the sound of his heart beating against her ear. It has been quite a while since she last danced with him like this, always being brought back to the moment they had danced in Kelly's. As hard as she tried to imagine Lucky holding her, she was way too aware of Jason's arms to ever believe it was Lucky.

Jason's taken by surprise a little as she snuggles deeper into him, holding him close as they gently sway to the music, but he doesn't comment on it. He simply holds her close as well, resting his head atop of hers as he closes his eyes, relishing in the moment they have found themselves in.

"Thank you." she whispers, sliding up her hands to rest at his nape. "I know you're not that big on dancing..."

"If its with you, I really don't mind." he assures, smiling slightly when she moves to look up at him. "I'll dance with you anytime you want."

"Don't say anything you don't mean, Jason." Elizabeth lays her head back on his chest. "I just might hold you to it."

As the song comes to an end, the argument between Zander and Emily start to grow too loud that no amount of music could possibly drown it out. Not unless they wanted to disturb their neighbors as well. With a sigh, Elizabeth walks over to the system and shuts off the music.

"How about we go for a ride?" Jason suggests, holding out her jacket for her to take.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Walking out of the penthouse, the two of them head down to his bike, straddling it before taking off into the night. For the next few hours, they simply ride up and down the winding road, knowing that they had to kill enough time until Emily and Zander both pass out for the night. Then and only then would they be able to go back to the penthouse and get some sleep for the next day.

"Remember that day when I said you should move into the penthouse?" Jason questions, standing on the bridge with her, continuing when she shakes her head. "What if I move into the studio?"

"What if you just tell your sister to get her own place?" Elizabeth counters. "You shouldn't move out because of your sister."

"I see how it is." Jason nudges her softly. "You don't want to live with me."

"Oh, shut up." Elizabeth shakes her head. "That's not it and you know it."

"Then what is it?" Jason counters, looking at her curiously. "You practically stay at the penthouse already, but you won't live there. Why?"

"I want to move into the penthouse, believe me." Elizabeth says seriously. "It would be nice to use my studio just for my art, but we both know I can't move into your place right now."

"Why not?"

"Emily." she looks at him intently. "You already have a full house with her living there. It would be a loony bin if I were to move in right now. It works just fine because I don't stay there all the time, but it'll be a lot different if I started living there, trust me."

"You're probably right."

"I am." she says simply, linking her arm with his. "Come on, lets head back. They should be asleep already."

"Yeah..." Jason turns to walk back to the bike with her. "...okay."


	8. Chapter 8

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

As the morning light starts to spread through town, lighting up the streets and buildings, Jason and Elizabeth can be found in the penthouse kitchen making breakfast. Well, Jason's making breakfast anyway, Elizabeth simply sits atop the kitchen counter, watching him.

For as long as the silence lasts, they simply let the comfort of a peaceful morning linger over them, knowing that it probably wouldn't last long when Emily and Zander wake up. This is the first night that Zander has stayed over in a long while and Jason was slowly losing his patience with the entire situation.

Handing him whatever he needed, Elizabeth couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if she actually moved into the penthouse. Of course, with Emily living there and Zander practically living there, as well, there was no way that it would work out. If it was going to be just her and Jason, she could see the benefits of that.

He was right. She practically lives there already, the only thing that was left to do would be to move all her stuff in, not that she had much stuff to begin with. As tempting as it was to live in the penthouse, she knew it wouldn't be happening any time soon. Not as long as Emily and the Quartermaines are at odds the way they are.

Sitting down at the table once breakfast is finished, Jason and Elizabeth are pleasantly surprised when they are able to finish breakfast without any interruptions from Emily and Zander. Washing the dishes they both go their separate ways to get ready for their day before meeting downstairs by the door once they were done.

"Ready to go?" Jason asks her once she slips into her jacket.

"Yeah." she shakes her head, making sure she has her keys and cellphone. "I'm ready."

"Okay." Jason and Elizabeth both turn when they hear someone walking down the stairs, finding Zander frozen to the spot when he notices them.

"I was just..." Zander starts to walk backwards, heading back up the stairs. "...uh, never mind. I'll just...yeah."

"You're right." Jason says seriously, watching as Zander zips back up the stairs. "It is a full house with her living with me."

"Told you so." Elizabeth laughs softly, pulling open the door. "Come on. Lets get going."

Though he was tempted to stay and scare the living daylights out of Zander, he knew that he had work to do. So, without further delay, Jason makes his way out of the penthouse with her and drives her to the warehouse on his bike. Making it there in record speed, Jason and Elizabeth make their way inside to meet up with her training class.

"Is that everyone?" Elizabeth asks him when her class comes into view.

"Yeah." Jason shakes his head. "You gonna be okay? Do you want me to walk over with you?"

"No, I'll be okay." Elizabeth turns to look at him. "Thanks for this, Jason."

"No problem." Jason says without hesitation. "I should go talk to Sonny."

"Yeah...you do that."

Parting on a warm embrace, Elizabeth makes her way to the group while Jason makes his way to his office. Greeting Francis and Johnny with a hug, Elizabeth turns to the other seasoned guards and greets them with a hug, having known them for a long time.

"Okay, good morning everyone!" Elizabeth says loudly, loud enough for everyone to hear her. "For those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Elizabeth."

There was a grumbled conversation going on between the men and Elizabeth could tell that she was going to have to do her best to get through to these men. From the looks of it, they really could use with a good training plan.

"Francis?" Elizabeth looks at him with an arched eyebrow, hating that she had to do it, but knowing that it was the only way for them to take her seriously. "Give me your gun."

"What?" Francis looks at her disbelievingly. "No."

"Here." Johnny hands over his, a slight smirk on his face. "Have at it."

"Thank you." Elizabeth says simply before aiming the gun up and firing off a couple rounds, shocking the men into paying attention. "Now that I've gotten your attention, you...what's your name?"

"Vince." one of the men concedes, looking at her intently.

"Okay, Vince, what is your position?" she questions, looking at him seriously. "And don't give me any crap about not being able to answer. Your position isn't top secret."

"I'm a runner." Vince admits. "I just started."

"Okay, good." Elizabeth shakes her head. "Lets say that Sonny or Jason told you to deliver something and you wound up in an ambush, bullets flying all over the place, what's the first thing you're gonna do?"

"Shoot back and take them out." Vince says matter-of-factly. "They shoot at me, I shoot at them."

"Okay." Elizabeth hands Johnny his gun back. "Can anyone tell me why that is the worst possible choice for him to make? No one?"

"I'll answer it." Ritchie says simply, raising his hand, continuing when Elizabeth shakes her head. "Runners usually make deliveries alone. If he were to be caught in an ambush, even against four guys, there's no way he'd survive a fire fight. He's being caught off guard while the other side has it pretty much planned out. The best bet would be to get out of there as fast as possible."

"We're not in the business of running away from a fight." Vince counters, looking at Ritchie seriously. "If someone shoots at me, I'm gonna shoot back. Plain and simple."

"We're not in the business of suicide, either." Francis snaps, looking at Vince sternly. "We're in the business of survival. You'll do whatever it takes to live. Whether that's shooting or ducking out of an ambush, you do it!"

"Yes, sir." Vince concedes, taking a step back into the crowd of men.

"Johnny, Francis, Ritchie, Marco and Max have been in this business for a long time." Elizabeth says seriously. "And they still stand here because they've mastered the technique of choosing their battles. They've learnt when to use their gun and when to use their quick thinking to get them out of a dangerous situation."

"Something all of you will learn by the time you're done with this training." Francis says sternly. "Between Elizabeth, Johnny, and myself, you will learn everything you need to survive this job."

"Most of all, you will learn to trust your instincts and let it guide you." Elizabeth says seriously. "When there are people chasing you, when bullets are flying, the only thing you can trust in is your gut. You will need to trust yourself to get you out of the situation without doubt or second guessing. Okay...lets get started."


	9. Chapter 9

_Title: With Love_  
_Circa: 2001_  
_Significant Change: Elizabeth gives up on Lucky after her talk with Jason on the bridge. The two become closer friends than before, but neither step over the line into something more than what they have always been. More than friends, but less than a couple._  
_Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital._

Looking around at all the winded guards, she smiles slightly, knowing that she had a lot of work ahead of her. She knew that they would need a decent amount of help, but she didn't think it was this bad. From the looks of the newer guards, she was going to have to step up her efforts if she's going to get them into the shape that Jason and Sonny needs them to be in.

Though, she had to admit that Max did a lot better than anyone would have guessed, having only gotten winded during the last leg of their run. She had hoped that Ritchie and Marco would have done better than the newer guards, but apparently their training techniques have been lacking as of late because they were winded right out of the gate. Thankfully, Johnny and Francis's stamina hasn't dropped any and they were able to keep up with her.

"I'd say this was a good first session, wouldn't you, Francis?" Elizabeth questions as the men start downing water like it was going out of style.

"Could have been better." Francis counters, shaking his head as one of the men take a new five gallon water container and starts downing in. "But yeah...it was okay for their first time."

"If you're not doing anything later, we should go over what we're gonna do for the next one." Elizabeth turns away from the men to look at Francis. "We need a more structured approach if we're gonna do this right."

"I'm not busy now." Francis offers. "How about we talk over lunch?"

"Sounds good." Elizabeth turns back to the men as they finally settle down from their water binge. "You guys did really good today. Tomorrow, you should go a little better, if not a lot better. Same time and place, make sure to dress for it this time. Yes, I am talking to you Ricardo. Sweatpants are much more suitable for exercising than jeans."

"Dismissed." Francis says simply. "Johnny, you coming?"

"Huh? Did you say something?" Johnny counters as the men disperse. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the loud throbbing pain in my legs."

"Oh, man up." Elizabeth shakes her head. "We're going to Kelly's to grab some lunch and go over the plans for tomorrow."

"You had me at lunch." Johnny smirks, slinging his arm around Elizabeth, guiding her towards the exit. "After what you've put me through, I'm so hungry I could eat a cow."

"Gross." Elizabeth smacks him before walking out of the warehouse with both Francis and Johnny. "Not an image I needed in my head."

While the three friends are heading to the local diner to have their meeting of minds over lunch, Jason has finally been able to get Sonny on the phone, planning a lunch meeting of their own. Heading out to meet Sonny, he watches the three of them get into Francis's car before he straddles his bike and heads to his lunch meeting with Sonny.

During the ride there, he wondered what Sonny would say about him bringing a woman into the organization. Granted that her position within the business isn't a delicate one, not in the least, it still went against Sonny's rules and he wondered if his friend would agree with his assessment of the men or if he's demand that Elizabeth be relieved of her duties. Shaking his head of all the random ways this could turn out, Jason parks the bike in the parking garage before heading up to Sonny's penthouse.

"In the kitchen." Sonny calls out to him when Jason calls his name. "Lunch is just about done. Finish setting the table while you wait."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Jason gets to work on setting the table with whatever Sonny had put out for them, thinking of ways to boast about Elizabeth's training, hoping to get Sonny hyped about it so it wouldn't end. Regardless of the logical reasons why Elizabeth training the men is an asset and not a liability, Jason just wanted her around. This way, they can see as much of each other as they want and he doesn't have to worry about her as much. With that many guards around her, there was no way anything would happen to her.

"Okay, lunch is served." Sonny says as he walks out of the kitchen with two different platters of food. "Fair warning, I rushed through cooking this, so, don't blame me if it isn't as good as it could be."

"Dully noted." Jason counters, helping Sonny place the platters onto the table. "Can we eat now?"

"Dig in." Sonny gestures to the food. "And, while you're at it, you can tell me what's with the need to meet today."

"Right...that." Jason sets the spoon down once he's filled up his plate. "I hired Elizabeth."

"Would you like to elaborate on that?" Sonny counters, setting the serving spoon down. "Seeing as you're telling me, it has something to do with the business, am I right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay...so what did you hire her to do?"

"Train the guards." Jason watches as confusion settles into Sonny's eyes. "I figured that the men could use a good trainer and Elizabeth fit the bill."

"Are you sure?" Sonny counters. "Or are you only hiring her because she's Elizabeth?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There are countless trainers more qualified to train the men." Sonny points out. "Trainers that are already within the organization. Why not utilize them?"

"Because I've seen the way they train and Elizabeth's style would be the most beneficial to both the men and the organization." Jason defends, arching his eyebrow when Sonny simply smirks. "Did I say something to amuse you?"

"I've already spoken to Francis and Johnny." Sonny shakes his head. "And I happen to agree with you. The men definitely need help and, between what they tell me about her training style and knowing Elizabeth the way I do, you're right. She would definitely bring an element to the training that none of the other trainers possibly could. You made the right choice."

"Are you serious?" Jason looks at him disbelievingly. "So, what was the point of this lunch?"

"Just wanted to see how you'd defend your decision." Sonny shrugs, pouring himself a glass of water. "You're part owner, Jason. You don't have to check in with me on all the decisions you make, but I do appreciate the gesture. The fact that you respected me enough to let me know only further proves to me that I made the right choice in entering this partnership."

As the conversation dropped there, Jason couldn't believe that he was really taking Elizabeth's position in the business so well. A part of him wanted to question Sonny further, but even he knows when to push things and when to accept what has happened. Seeing as he didn't want Sonny to change his mind and insist that he fire Elizabeth, Jason opts to accepting Sonny's acceptance and letting it go.

"Before you leave, I want you to pass on a message to Elizabeth for me." Sonny says as Jason gets ready to walk out the door. "Let her know that I'll be sitting in on her training session tomorrow."

"She won't let you just sit in." Jason counters, knowing that she wouldn't care that its Sonny, she'll make him get up and participate. "She'll make you participate."

"You make it sound like I won't be able to handle it if she does." Sonny looks at him curiously. "Should I assume that means you've participated?"

"We ran together before I hired her." Jason says simply, pulling open the door. "But, as Johnny had put it, you won't know what its like until you try it. I'll let her know."

Hiding a slight smirk as he walked out of the penthouse, Jason had to admit that leaving Sonny curious yet slightly wary was definitely a good payback for being put on the hot seat about Elizabeth. Closing the door behind him, he makes a mental note to be there when Sonny gets back from training with Elizabeth. He just might have to take a picture of his friend once he's been put through Elizabeth's style of training.

"Hey, its me." Jason says after Elizabeth answers her phone. "Where you at?"

"Just finished having lunch with Francis and Johnny at Kelly's." she admits, getting into Francis's car. "I should be at your place soon. Why?"

"There's something I need to tell you." Jason pushes open his penthouse door, making his way inside. "You're gonna get a real kick out of it. So, get here fast."

"Great." she says sarcastically. "Way to peak my interest while I'm all the way over here."

"Just get here."

Ending the call, Elizabeth tells Francis to step on it, getting her to Jason's place in record time, saying their goodbyes before she makes her way up to the penthouse level. Walking inside, she finds Jason sitting on the couch with a beer bottle in his hand. Looking at him curiously, she shrugs out of her jacket before walking over to sit next to him.

"Okay, I'm here." Elizabeth says seriously. "Now spill."

"Sonny doesn't mind that I hired you." Jason says simply. "He actually agrees that the men need all the help they can get."

"Please don't tell me that I rushed all the way over here for that." Elizabeth counters, looking at him seriously. "Do you know how many laws we broke to get here this fast?"

"Okay, okay." Jason laughs softly, earning a punch from Elizabeth. "Sonny's gonna sit in on your training tomorrow. I told him that you wouldn't just let him watch and he seems to think he can handle it."

"Sonny's going to train with us?" Elizabeth's mouth turned up into a sweet smirk. "Now, that's more like it...oh, this is gonna be so much fun."

"Elizabeth, do me a favor?"

"Please don't tell me I have to tone it down just because Sonny will be there."

"Actually, I was gonna say, do your worst." Jason chuckles when her eyes light up. "Prove to Sonny that you're the real deal."

"You got it." Elizabeth says wholeheartedly. "Like I said, this is gonna be so much fun."

"I bet."


End file.
